TIN DRUM

Just as the ugly GTP album had been a catastrophe, Tin Drum could only manage to match the disaster and the group is reduced to a quartet, which is not a problem due to those ugly programmable "everythings" that abound on this crappy excuse of an album. Somehow in that disaster violinist Simon House (ex-High Tide and Hawkwind) got drawn into the disaster and lays some violin strings across the mixing desk, but it was no miracle that he could save the album. In this album, graced with a pseudo Chinese photo (and chairman Mao in an inset), this album might just be Japan's worst. Musically they sound like Roxy meeting Human League and the Duran Duran ugliness or even in some cases, Talking Heads, but never matching the brilliance of TH.

Ugly and disgraceful tracks like Art Of Parties, Talking Drum (and its very slight faking of Arab sonorities) are pure 100% new wave crap that even today still sounds unlistenable. Actually I can only pinpoint the Human League to have such a low level of low musicianship. Just like in Talking Drum, Vision Of China is an almost-fake China inspiration (at least JM Jarre does it credibly), as is Cantonese Boy, and again some tracks (Songs of Pioneer) are insufferably long, overstaying their welcome by a third of the way into their lengths. Only the Ghosts track is a slightly more interesting track, with its lengthy intro, and its semi Roxy Music (mostly vocals) ambiance.

Avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid, avoid !!!

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